Modern mobile devices, such as smart phones, smart watches, tablets, laptops, and the like, will occasionally be connected to another device. For instance, smart phones may be connected to a computer to receive and/or send data. Similarly, smart watches may be connected to a docking station to receive and/or send data. Accessories may be used to connect the devices to one another. For example, a cable can be used to connect the smart phone to the computer.
Presently, cables containing conductive wires are generally used for data transmission. Such cables transmit data by allowing voltages to be applied through the conductive wires at a predetermined frequency. The maximum frequency at which data can be transferred through the conductive wire may be limited, however, due to limitations of conductive materials, such as the resistance of the conductive material. Furthermore, utilizing conductive wires to transmit data requires the use of receptacles on the receiving side, which may often create openings within which moisture and/or debris may enter. Utilizing conductive wires may also suffer from capacitive coupling between wires running high frequency signals which can impede signal transmission. To avoid capacitive coupling, shielding solutions may be implemented to shield signal lines; however, such shielding solutions can be bulky in size.
One way to overcome such limitations is to utilize waveguides for sending a wave, e.g., electromagnetic waves for data transmission instead of conductive wires. Waveguides are structures that enable wave signals to propagate with minimal loss of energy. Waveguides are particularly useful for transmitting waves that are not normally capable of efficient transmission in the atmosphere. As an example, very high frequency waves (e.g., millimeter waves) that easily disperse in the atmosphere can be contained within a waveguide to prevent dispersion of transmitted signals. By enabling the transmission of millimeter waves, transmissions performed at frequencies substantially higher than that of conductive wires (e.g., tens or even hundreds of gigahertz (GHz)) can be achieved.
In order for successful transmission with waveguides, however, the orientation of millimeter waves transmitted from the sending device needs to match the orientation of the waveguide in the receiving device. That is, the orientation of the waveguide of the sending device should match the orientation of the waveguide in the receiving device. If the orientation of the waveguides are different, then the transmission signals received by the receiving device may be interpreted incorrectly. Improvements to such waveguides are desired.